Prisoners in Rio de Janeiro killed at least 33 fellow inmates and beheaded many of them in a gang turf war that marked the worst prison violence in years in Brazil 's overcrowded penal system.
Police said at least 15 decapitated bodies were found in the month-old Benfica jail in an overnight search after three days of rioting ended. Many corpses were charred.
"It was a truly horrific scene. There were bodies dumped in garbage containers, heads, body parts," said Rio state lawmaker Geraldo Moreira, suggesting the final death toll could be higher.
The revolt ended on Monday night when prisoners, some of them armed with pistols and shotguns, surrendered and freed more than 20 hostages after talks mediated by a priest.
A guard who was held hostage was also killed, execution-style with a shot in the back, on Sunday. Police officials said on condition of anonymity the violence involved rival drug gangs but did not provide details.
Rio's lucrative arms and drug trade is dominated by three main criminal groups -- The Red Command, the Third Command and Friends of the Friends. They control most of Rio's teeming "favelas," or slums. Many of their kingpins are in jail but still run the business from behind bars.
The bloodshed was Brazil 's worst prison violence since the 1992 police massacre of more than 100 inmates at the Carandiru prison in neighboring Sao Paolo state.
Brazilian jails have seen repeated revolts, usually sparked by appalling conditions, including overcrowding.